Today's Shap Advice on how to make your site better
 

Hi Everyone!

Still making my way through the AskShap mentoring and coaching emails. While I'm doing that I thought I'd share some advice that I think a lot of people can use and apply immediately. Here is a common email I'm getting.

"Hi Shap, I own TubeXyz my site is stuck in traffic and not growing. What can I do to improve?"

Alright let's use the Tube example. Let's say I want to start a Fetish porn tube. Here are some of the main steps I would take in my research and planning of my site.

-I'd go to The Porn Dude - Top Porn Sites List! and any other site with a list of tubes. I'd research on alexa the actual biggest tubes (i.e. porndude doesn't have youjizz etc). Create a master list of the biggest adult tubes. Then create a list of the biggest niche tubes.

- I'd visit each one and view them as a surfer. I'd make a list of what I liked and didn't like about each. Hell if you have to drop your pants and whip out your cock then do that. You need to really think and feel like the surfer. You have to BE the surfer.

- I'd visit the top tubes/sites in each niche category. I'd go through the same practise of viewing them as a surfer.

- I'd revisit all of the top sites and then start making notes as a website owner. What do I like about the design. What do i dislike. What would I change. What do i think works.

- I'd review the top niche sites. What elements do the best do better than the others? What do I think the reasons the top guys are the top guys. Is there anything being done on other tubes that hasn?t been applied to the Fetish Porn Tubes? Ie is Jamo.tv doing something in the asian market that i can use on my fetish tube.

- I?d create a list of the fetish free sites and visit them. Any recurring themes that seem to work or be popular.
- I?d create a list of communities in my niche/fetish and visit them. Get involved as a surfer. Research what is popular. Which sites are being linked to? What type of videos? Are most links going to general tubes or fetish tubes? If it?s not going to fetish tubes why not? Ads? popups?

Alright now you have data and some perspective on what is needed to compete. Start building your site. Try to implement the ideas you have. Once you?ve designed the site now review and compare your site to the top tubes. Ask yourself this question. If you are the surfer and you have the choice would you visit your site or Pornhub? Why? Why not? You have to build a site that is better than your competition. There is no point in launching a CopyCatCookieCutterTube.com. Those days are over. If you are going to launch something make it worthwhile. Make it the best. For your launch remove all advertising. Remove all popups. Do you think having an annoying popup will get a surfer to prefer your site over PornHub? You are in competition with every major tube. If you can?t compete and be better than them then don?t launch.

This method can be applied to every type of site. I use the tube example because that is the most common email I've received so far. So now I can simply direct them to this post and not reply the same thing again :)

Thread too useful for GFY standards. Please delete.

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Awesome thread Shap. One of the best threads posted recently.

Solid advice

Hi Shap, loads of amazing advice as usual, although, the above, yes, it's possible to get this right, only if you're thinking of the majority of people...

you could have a different fetish to others...

So watching other sites to see what would you'd like to see is pointless because you'd do what you want anyway as not everyone's the same. There'll be niche there no matter what you like :thumbsup

Great Thread Bookmarked!

There may be a niche but the way content is laid out and delivered is independent of niche. A nice layout is a nice layout.

This is very basic approach. I mean, a no-brainer. But what's left behind is where do we get money to build that site and get fresh content?

You'd be surprised how few people do this

You can have the best tube, if you don't know how to generate traffic it won't grow.

I have sites where visitors stay 8 minutes and visit a lot of pages, the direct traffic just don't grow by itself easily. You need a lot of se traffic and other sources to make the direct traffic grow.

You could be great at getting traffic but if your site sucks it's a waste. Chicken and egg :)

Nowadays it's way easier to build a great tube with a lot of long length hd videos coming from affiliate programs and have visitors staying more than 5 minutes on a site.

It's way harder to get huge traffic from search engine or other sources without buying and even harder to get direct traffic.

Shap, I'd like to just add that there are times when it is difficult to separate one's self from the developer perspective to the end user perspective.

One option I have used in the past is with the local colleges. Every one of them has a student union and a bulletin board where you can post "opportunities". You can, and I certainly have, put up a flyer asking for people interested in providing feedback for mature entertainment ... a focus group if you will. You can supply them with a list of sites to check out, or specific pages, and/or ask them to supply a list of the sites they visit and why. It's amazing what information you can get for Beer Money :)

You can also do something similar with Fiverr.... post that you're seeking "reviewers" and choose form various countries.

This is also great for "AB testing" because you can give one group a list of some sites and others a different list. Then compare.

Just thought I'd contribute to an otherwise already helpful thread.

Great advice! :thumbsup Thanks.

Awesome idea :)

First step in improving sales. Empathy with the consumer.

good advice :thumbsup

agreed Shap, the layout is maybe more important than the content to begin, on entrance...

as the old saying goes "first impressions last" :thumbsup

Empathy is so important!

It's important to know who, what and where to sell. Selling another slab of meat in a market chockablock with similar slabs of meat. Is stupid. Which is why Tubes convert 1 in many 1,000s of views.

Empathy with a buyer reveals, he wants more than slabs of meat, more than soundbite logos, more than false promises, even true ones are taken as false when they're needles in a haystack.

A sample needs to sell the product, not slate the appetite. It needs to entice, lure and go through the basic steps of arousing the curiosity of the buyer. That can't be done today with clips of people fucking, except for slinging traffic and hoping.

So what does the buyer want, that can't be found on a Tube site?

Suggestions, please. It should be easy. If you empathise with buyers and not free surfers.

Excellent post Shap. My only note would be something I've always said to prospective webmasters in the past who want to run a large multi-niched 'database' type site (such as a tube) which is this:

Don't only promote what YOU like. There are millions of surfers out there who are into a ton of things I myself, or you, would never be into. Many are willing to pay to get it. None of them care what YOU the site owner is into. Find those niches and give it to them. Shemale, gay, lego sex, balloons, hard bondage, whatever, if it's legal it's fair game and you can bet someone out there wants it. Present each one as if it's your all time favorite. Over time see which ones sell. Give those ones top billing but still include the others.

Main question for any site, especially these days.

Agreed 100% I've learned that a few times. Started a boob tgp with the idea that people wanted to see Stripper type fake boob chicks quickly learned it was all about natural when it came to boobs. Same when we started GayTube. Started with me trying to coordinate what type of content to use on it. But when we handed it over to someone who understood the surfer the site went from not growing to absolutely exploding.

Refreshing to see a thread with actual information to help someone successfully launch a new project. This is a great primer.

Good work Shap.

I would disagree about promoting what you don't like. The odds of understanding what a surfer will like drop increasingly and the time is better spent on promoting porn you do like and understand.

It's as crazy as me shooting gay porn.

Tubes are the biggest threat today. For 99.99% there is no real need to buy porn when tubes are better for consumers. Giving consumers a reason to pay for porn on the site one promotes or owns is essential.

So why do so few sites give that?

Are they waiting for VR to be too expensive for Tubes and so essential for consumers, people will have to pay for it?